'Kulafumbi' is our family home in Kenya, East Africa. 'Kulafumbi' is a play on the Kiswahili words "kula vumbi", which mean "eat dust", because it was so hot and dusty building our house in this remote, wild, wonderful place. Kulafumbi borders the Tsavo National Park - with no fences between us and the Park, the wildlife comes and goes of its own free will and treats our land as its own, which is exactly how we like it. In turn, we provide a protected area for the wild animals to do as they please. This protected area also creates an important buffer for the river, which forms the boundary between us and the park. House & Land - more infoMy Family & I - more info

ON-GOING SPECIES COUNT

Look how many species of animals & birds we've spotted to date at Kulafumbi:

"We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems..."

I haven't spent much time in Tsavo of late, having been working elsewhere around the country (see my photos from Laikipia) but one thing I can tell you is that the rain in Tsavo has been patchy so far. A heavy storm near Voi filled up the waterholes, launched the frogs into overdrive and gave the giraffes a few fresh green shoots to munch on. So here, in haste it has to be said, are a few snapshots of a just-rained Tsavo with its rust-red earth and rust-red waterholes:

A delonix elatior tree in full flower.

Full to bursting! (And by the time I photographed this waterhole, it had already receded somewhat.)

Giraffes getting busy...

With the first rain storm, the tree frogs start laying eggs. They create this frothy ball, into which they lay their eggs. Hanging it over water ensures that, when the tadpoles hatch, they fall straight into their new liquid home. (Above and below)

New plant life is never slow to get going either...but the rain obviously has other effects too. It seems to have gone to the head of this Kori Bustard, who was walking up and down in amongst a flock of Ostriches, trying to attract the females with his flamboyant display. Perhaps the moral of the story is this: if you've got the confidence, then size really doesn't matter!